Marilyn Laucata Chiccla

Marilyn Laucata’s farm is located in La Convención, the largest of thirteen provinces that make up the broader Cusco region, in southern Peru. Her four hectare farm in the district of Santa Ana is named Agua Dulce (or Sweet Water) after the creek that runs through her land. At present, Marilyn has planted bourbon and caturra trees on over 50% of her land, and uses organic methods to cultivate her plants. While she credits her father as the original source of her enthusiasm for coffee production, Marilyn has since taken on the endeavor largely by herself: managing her farm single-handedly for most of the year until the harvest season when her family arrives to assist her. Marilyn’s story is sadly rare in specialty coffee. In addition to being a talented female coffee producer within the often male-focused culture of coffee production, it’s increasingly rare to find younger-generation producers so eager to produce coffee at all, given the difficulty of the work and the risks offered by increasingly volatile global coffee markets. Given all of the above, we are truly inspired by Marilyn’s story, and her beautiful coffee is quite inspiring on the cupping table as well.